KATHMANDU: The meeting of the Constitutional Council has been postponed yet again. The meeting was supposed to select a new Chief Justice.

This is the second time in a week that the meeting has been postponed. The meeting scheduled for April 21 was put off because of deepening political crisis following the government's move to seek explanation from Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal.

Though the meeting could not convene on Monday, the meeting informally agreed to appoint senior most Supreme Court Justice Min Bahadur Rayamajhi as the new Chief Justice, according to a Constitutional Council source.

The meeting was postponed on Monay at the eleventh hour after the representative of Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives JP Gupta, could not attend it.

"All of us were present at the PM's residence in Baluwatar for the meeting. But Gupta did not attend the meeting. But we will meet tomorrow," CJ Giri told this daily. CJ Kedar Prasad Giri is an ex-officio member in the CC. He is retiring on May 4.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Constituent Assembly Chairman Subas Nembang, Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam, Law Minister Dev Gurung and Ram Chandra Paudel, representative of opposition leader Girija Prasad Koirala, attended the meeting.

"The meeting was postponed because of a technical reason. There is nothing fishy behind it," Giri added.